Comming home
by Trebblerdemon
Summary: Joshua, or Josh as he prefers to be called, finds a home for the first time in his life. Witten before 'Living with a past'.
1. Chapter 1

Important notes:  
  
-The Xmen and all their stuff belongs to Marvel. I'm borrowing them to give Josh somewhere to stay, ok?  
  
-Joshua/Josh on the other hand is my idea. Ask nicely and you may borrow him.  
  
-All the rest of copyright stuff, you know the drill. Oh, and please review. n_n  
  
Comming home.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
"The magical myster tour is waiting to take you away."  
  
-John Lennon and Paul McCartney  
  
The door behind Josh closed softly. The small room behind it looked like an ordinary guestroom; a narrow bed, a small desk, a couple of lamps that didn't match and a closet that had seen better days. All in all, the kind of small room where furniture ended up when it didn't fit in any of the other rooms. He turned the switch, and soft light gave more sharpness to the shadows and enlighted parts of the creamcoloured walls. A small vase of flowers gave the picture more life. Roses, he noted, and smiled. There had been roses in the other rooms he'd been shown, and in the hallways aswell. They all seemed fresh, and gave the impression that the owner cared much about his home. The ones in his room were a soft cream colour, possibly to match the walls, but he had seen different colours in almost every room. Perhaps to fit every room, he couldn't tell yet. Even the blue ones he'd seen when he'd passed one of the open doors in the corridor seemed to fit in.  
  
Then, with a small shrug, he turned his mind from the flowers and placed his bag on the bed. He didn't own much in this world, but he had taken it all with him when he came to this place. He'd been told that it was a school, and that they'd help him. The bald man in the wheelchair had looked at him , and his gaze had seemed to search every part of his soul...even his own dark secrets he'd kept hidden for so long...Then he had smiled and told him about Xaviers School for Gifted Youngsters. Said that they expected him to come there and learn. He didn't know really what he was supposed to learn, but expected to be 'broken in' and 'taught to behave'.  
  
With a sigh, he tried to push those thoughts aside. He didn't like to think that they would be as everyone else he had met in his short life. But they had been suprisingly nice this far. Probably just to lull him into safety. He flung himself on the bed, fully dressed, and closed his eyes. He'd take a little catnap before he searched the house for the best way out. Wouldn't do him no good to stumble into something without being rested and prepared. Within a minute, he was asleep, and all that could be heard in his room was his peaceful breathing. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two  
  
'You'll never get a second chance to make a first impression.'  
  
-Unknown  
  
There was a soft knock on the door, and before he knew it Josh was up and halfway ready to dive through the window. Another knock, as soft, and he remembered where he was.  
  
'Yes?' he ventured, with what he hoped was a alert tone.  
  
The door opened, and the lady that had shown him around a little yesterday smiled at him. He could vaugely remember her name, Jennie, Jean, something like that. He realised that he had been stareing silently at her, as she chuckled softly.  
  
'You're not much of a talker, are you? Well, I'm just passing by to make sure you don't miss breakfast. If you want to come, that is?' She gave him a questioning look, and he nodded, trying to forget the fact that he hadn't eaten properly for days. Sometimes they had hid medicine in his food in the 'home' from wich Xavier had taken him...He remembered some manners though, and nodded, mumbling 'Yes, thank you.' before he swiftly pulled the bag from the bed and started to open it.  
  
'I'll just change...if there is time?' he asked carefully, trying not to sound as uncertain as he felt. Her smile calmed him somewhat. She seemed very motherly, even if not in a old way...just as if she was born to be someones mother.  
  
'Plenty of time. You just come when you're ready. I bet you'll beat Remy and Logan to the table anyway. I just thought that you didn't want to spend your first day here asleep.' She closed the door after her, and he sighed, looking at what little clothes he had with him. A black polo, another pair of jeans, and some underwear, everything rather torn and worn. But he changed clothes anyway, and about two or three minutes later he descended the large set of stairs and let himself be led to the kitchen by the smell of coffee.  
  
The kitchen itself was a simple affair, rather large with all the usuall kitchen attires and benches, a big table with chairs around it and what seemed to be a backdoor a couple of meters away from the far end of it. Good to know. But all this he just noted by habit, because the people seated around the table in friendly morning banter caught his attention the second he walked in. Xavier, the bald guy in the wheelchair, and Jennie, Jean or whatever was her name next to him. On her other side, a bulky looking man with red shades, despite the early hour. Probably just trying to look cool, he thought and smirked invardly. The desired effect wasn't achieved.  
  
On the other side of the table, a lean man with auburn hair stretched after the coffee pot as he passed some smart remark to the beautiful girl by his side, who replied and stroked some stray hairs from her face with a gloved hand. Gloves? In the summer? Not for the first time, he wondered what kind of place this was, and what on earth he was doing there...  
  
Then, he could feel movement in the hallway behind him.  
  
'Ya gonna stand here and stare all mornin', bub, or are ya gonna let a man in need get his coffee?' someone asked in a gruff tone, and he lept quickly to the side. A short, muscled man, with a hostile air around him steped by and grumbling made his way towards the table. All his observations had taken seconds to make, but now he had been noticed, and felt quite akward.  
  
'Mornin'.' he mumbled, and he sat down at the table, on a free chair next to a coloured woman with the most amazing long, white, hair.  
  
'Ah, good morning Josh. I hope your first night here has been pleasant?' Xavier said and handed him a cup, as everyone turned their gazes towards him.  
  
'Yes, thank you...all very nice.' Josh answered quietly, feeling more and more self-concious. Luckily, Xavier just nodded and then started to introduce him to the people around the table.  
  
'Well, you have met me and Jean already,' At the mentioning of her name, Jean gave him a quick little wave of her hand, and a comforting smile. As the others were presented, Josh turned his eyes from face to face, studying them carefully but quickly. 'and this is Scott,' the guy with red sunglasses nodded, before he seemed to return to the sports pages 'Remy,' the lean man with auburn hair turned his gaze towards him, and he nearly blinked in suprise. Those eyes were dangerous, and not just because they were red-on-black...a glimpse of something he could recognize was in there, something warning. But Remy smiled and said, with the strangest dialect he'd ever heard, 'Mornin', mon ami. Nice t' see some new talent 'round.' And strangest of all, he had signed 'no danger' with a thief-sign. A thief? From the Guild? Oh, God...Josh felt himself go pale. He was in so much trouble...he'd be lucky if he came out alive. Xavier didn't seem to notice the little exchange, as he continued. 'and next to him you have Rouge,' The girl with gloves nodded and smiled at Josh. 'Mornin' shuga'.' she said, with a heavy southern drawl. '..and next to yourself you have Ororo.' The woman next to him turned her pale blue eyes towards him and nodded in a friendly, if yet distant, way. 'Logan, you have met briefly now, even if he isn't much of a talker before coffee.' The little gruff man standing leaned towards the counter nodded shortly at Josh.  
  
Then came the part that he had been fearing the most. Xavier turned his blue eyes towards him, and even if he smiled, Josh felt that he couldn't even try to lie while he was locked in that gaze. 'Now, I thought we'd finish breakfast, and if you'd like to join..' Josh hurried to interrupt him, struggling to keep his gaze straight into Xaviers eyes, 'I...I was thinking I'd stay in my room, for a while, if that's alright, just to..um, get into it, unpack, sort of thing...?' His voice faded, but he swallowed and forced himself to meet Xaviers gaze, his hands clenching under the table untill his knuckles where white, and he thought that everyone in the room could hear his heartbeat sounding like a drum. Xavier looked a little suprised, lifting an eyebrow, but then he just nodded. 'Of course. Feel free to do whatever you want to today, and we'll take some paperwork and studyplans tomorrow.' A surge of relief ran through Josh, and he smiled, quite steadily. 'Thank you, sir.' Then he got up and as slowly as he could manage walked out of the kitchen. He didn't run untill he reached the stairs. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
'Running doesn't help, if you're on the wrong way.'  
  
-Unknown  
  
The kitchen was silent as Josh left, and the silence lasted untill they could hear the quick steps reach a door and it carefully closing. Then Xavier turned towards his students. 'Well?'  
  
Scott put down the paper, wich he had seemed to be reading so that he could study Josh from behind his rubyquarts glasses. 'He's terrified.' he started, and got an agreeing mumble around the table. 'Especially of Remy and Logan.' Remy nodded in response. 'Qui. I gave 'im a sign I thoug't woul' calm 'im, but dat seemed to scare 'im even more.' He put his chin in his hand, leaning his elbow on the table. 'De boy's been in touch with de Guild, an' didn't seem to 'ave liked de experience.' Logan snorted. 'I can't think of any Guild I'd be more terrified off if I was a twelve year old pickpocket...-not- from the Guild. And exept for the girls in here, we could scare older men than him.' He lifted a hand at Rouges lifted eyebrow. 'Don't get me wrong, darlin'. I'm just talkin' about how sweet the three of ya look compared to the rest of us old weatherworn owls.' Rouge chuckled and wrinkled her nose a little. 'Ya try, Wolvie, an' ya do quite good somethimes. But ah agree...he looked like a mouse who just found himself in the lair of the cat. An he left like he was happy to get away withou...this easy.' Jean nodded. 'Happy to get away without a beating. Or worse.'  
  
Josh closed the door carefully behind him and then leaned towards it, hiding his face in his hands as he tried to think. 'Great...just great. They're going to kill me.' The fact that they could have killed him every moment he'd been here if they wanted to flashed by, but he was to scared to take the chance. He ran his fingers through his hair, and then winced a little. His arms still hurt from the latest 'dicipline' he'd gotten, at the 'home'. He smiled bitterly. Home. Not the first thing he'd call it. Then he looked around the room, and quickly put all his things back in the bag, and then put on his thin leather jacket, pocketing a pack of cards. He'd survive, if he only came out of here. He'd find some people to trick, and get enough money to buy some food and perhaps a pair of less used boots before winter. He cursed silently as he remembered he'd forgotten to eat at breakfast, or even take something with him. But it was too late to go back, and he couldn't bring himself to take the chance of sneaking by the kitchen on the way out. Opening the window, he took the luxuary of one last glance. It was a nice room, and no bars outside the window. He could have liked it, if things had been different. But as things were... He sighed, and stepped out on the thin ledge outside the window, closing it behind him.  
  
'So, we're going to take him in then?' Jean summed up, and looked around the table, getting nods of agreement everywhere. 'Then, someone should go and stop him before he reaches the walls.' she said in a casual, matter of fact tone. Remy got up, and chuckled. 'I'll go..."takes a thief to catch one", eh?' Xavier nodded before Scott had the chance to object. 'Remy can handle him.'With a nod, Remy quickly headed towards the backdoor. 'Any leads on w'ere he's at?' he asked over his shoulder. 'West wall.' Xavier answered before the door closed. 'Okey...did Gumbo leave any of that tar he calls coffee? I need to get my eyes open before I walk into something.' Logan asked as they returned to their breakfast.  
  
The wall was there, within reach, but there was a long way over open terrain before he could climb over it...back to the 'safety' of the streets. At least he knew what to expect there. And how to survive. He was about to take the final steps out of his shelter, a few small trees and bushes about thirty feet from the brick wall, when something made him cautious. He couldn't say what it was, just his 'sixth sense' telling him to stay in cover. And he knew better now than to ignore that sense. About ten seconds later, he was given right. Remy, the thief with the accent, came walking along the wall. He wasn't shouting for him, so they couldn't have noticed that he was missing quite yet. Good. He'd just wait for Remy to pass, and then he'd have freedom again. But his body choose that moment to betray him. His stomach wasn't happy with having been in a room smelling so wonderfully of food, just to have it taken away again, and it growled. Josh cursed in his mind, as Remy turned his head. He must have acute hearing, he thought, as Remy turned his steps towards his hidingplace. 'Josh?' he said softly, and sent a shiver of fear down Josh's spine. 'I know you're dere, an' we shoul' go back 'fore you worry 'em pretty ladies in de kitchen, eh?' His head felt as it was filled with cotton, all of a sudden. Something with that voice...Josh shook his head. He couldn't be caught now, so close...had to go back, couldn't worry Jean...What?! No! 'Josh? 's dat your real name? Or 's 't Joshua? Like in de Good Book?' Josh smiled a little. Joshua...only mom had called him that. Before...her new husband...'No! Leave me alone!' With shock, he realised that he had said the last out loud, and darted out of his cover, making a desperate rush towards the wall. But he wasn't quick enough. Strong arms closed around him, and he was more or less lifted straight up. Fear washed in over him, and he started to fight feriously. 'Let me go!' Remy ignored his cry, and he was carried back towards the house, kicking and biting, clawing and wrigling. But his fear gave him powers he didn't know he had. All he could feel was this strong need to get free and, suddenly, he felt like he was on fire!  
  
As he carried the struggling boy back towards the mansion, Remy tried not to curse out loud as the little feet and hands, not to mention teeth, left their marks on his arms and legs. 'De Professor's gonna get for this...' he muttered to himself, and then he blinked. The boy was glowing! 'W'at!?' he exclaimed, just before what had been a little boy only a couple of seconds ago had turned into...a red-hot, sparkling...man? That was the last thing he saw, before the world went dark.  
  
Everything seemed so confusing. He was burning, and still not...He was hot, and yet cold. It was bright around him, and he felt like he was moving, still on the same place. Then, a feeling of falling, and everything went black.  
  
Remy opened his eyes, and blinked. Josh laid on the ground, unconcious. He got up, and winced. He felt like he'd been caught in a meat-mincer. 'Can't be easy to be you, homme...' Remy mumbled, as he gently picked up the unconcious boy and carefully carried him back to the house. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
'Seldom sighs the happy heart, but often a smile clings to the sad lips.'  
  
-Unknown  
  
Josh woke up in a bright place, and blinked. A little 'ding' sound was repeated somewhere around him, and he felt a needle in his arm... He lifted a shivering hand and, without looking at it, pulled the needle out. Still with his gaze fixed to the bright light above him, he tried to feel if he was restrained, or in other ways stopped of getting up. No. No ropes, no chains, no leather straps...Carefully, with his head spinning, he sat up and looked around, still blinking in the sharp light. A little lab, it seemed, with microscopes, large lockers, a couple of stretchers, a long bench with little glass items on it...all white and bright. He looked down on himself, half expecting to see large pieces of himself missing, but saw nothing different since the last time he checked. Even his clothes were in place, even if the arm of his polo had been rolled up to allow the needle to be put on the inside of his elbow. The spinning slowly diminished, and he carefully got on his feet, holding on to the stretcher as he rolled his arm back down. Where the heck was he?  
  
'...and I think he'll be quite alright, with rest and some nourishment. He had a low blood count, and weighed depressingly little, but as I said, nothing that we can't cure.' Hank McCoy leaned back in the recliner at the fireplace, and put his hands togeather. He was a large man, whose looks brought forth the image of a blue gorilla, rather than the educated scientist he was. Xavier nodded, and then turned his head a little, as if listening to something. 'Well, Hank, I think your patient has awoken. What do you think of letting him return to his room for the night?' Hank shruged and smiled a little, showing white fangs behind his thin lips. 'You tell me, Charles. I am no psychiatrist, but I think he might be enclined to try running again.' Nodding again, Xavier sighed a little. 'Then I'll make sure someone brings him some food. Anyone you can think of right now that has a chance of gaining his trust?'  
  
The bright light made his eyes hurt now. He tried to stay focused on finding an open way out, but something made him dizzy and unbalanced. Probably some medicine, that needle and all... But he couldn't give up now. The door was locked, of course, but there was other ways of getting out. He just had to remember what to look for. Tears of frustration welled up in his eyes, but with an irritated move of his hand he quickly dried them away before they had a chance to spill over. He wouldn't cry, because it wouldn't help him now. And when you'd seen what he had, you didn't start crying just because you were locked up somewhere, in a lab, with no way out and no hope of surviving when they found out you were awake...He had to dry his eyes again before his vision cleared, and he sat down in a corner, fighting back the lump that was forming in his throat. There wasn't even an aircondition in here... No way to get out.  
  
He didn't know how long he sat there, but when the door opened, he didn't hessitate. He got up with a quick leap, and attempted to dash by the shape in the door, and...Bang! It was like running into a wall! The air had somehow turned solid and he staggered backwards, with a hand to his forehead, trying to see through the fog that sank down over his eyes.  
  
'Oh, I'm sorry Josh, I just didn't want to chase you all over the lab...Are you allright?' He recognized the voice, it was Jean, even if he couldn't see her clearly.  
  
'Right as rain...' he muttered, and sat down. The spinning was back, and he felt a little sick. She smiled, but kneeled down at his side and put a hand on his head. The spinning slowed down, and he felt better.  
  
'Now, I brought you some food. Do you like chicken?' She motioned towards a plate that came...flowing...in...on the...air? 'Can't stand it...' he mumbled, hoping she'd just leave...before he started crying. 'Then you're lucky. I've got Logan to go and get you a hamburger and some fries.' 'Not hungry.' he managed to say, even if his stomach was disagreeing with him on that point, and the tears he pushed back made him sound strange. So much was happening to him, in so short time. What did these people want with him, anyway? He was a good-for-nothin', runaway thief and worthless kid...  
  
'Well, if you change your mind, I'll leave it here.' As she got up, he found himself trying to grasp her hand. 'Don't go...' he found himself saying. What was this? He didn't need anyone! But the lab made him feel...alone. And unsafe. He didn't want her to go, but he didn't want her to see him cry either...But she sat down next to him again, and placed her hand on his shoulder. It felt warm and comforting. 'You've been a lonely boy for a long time, haven't you, Josh?' she asked, in such a friendly tone that he felt warm all over. He couldn't answer, only nod, as he pulled up his knees and closed his eyes on the shameful tears. He couldn't bring himself to let go of her hand. 'You don't have to say anything. I just want you to know that you have a home now, where you'll always be welcome. Trust us, and we'll trust you. No questions asked. Just come and live with us, Joshua, and you might even learn a thing or two.' She sounded so friendly, honest and trustworthy that he didn't even think about it. A little voice somewhere in his mind said that it was all a trick, that they'd soon throw him out, laugh at him and turn their backs...but a even smaller voice told him to trust her, and he choose.  
  
Jean held the little shivering boy in her arms, and just talked soothingly as he cried on her shoulder. 'There, there...It'll be alright...Just let it all out...' But something told her that things weren't solved quite yet. That day, that sorrow, she thought and returned her thoughts to Josh. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
'Love seeketh not itself to please, nor for itself hath any care,  
  
But for another gives its ease, and builds a Heaven in Hells despair.'  
  
from 'The clod and the Pebble', by William Blake  
  
He was back in his room, and sat in the window, looking out on the lawn. The others were playing some ballgame, and every now and then they cheered, laughed, joked... He didn't feel outside, or shut out. In fact, Jean had asked him to join, but he hadn't felt like moving around. It would feel to much like being on the run again. He just wanted to watch, and learn about this place.  
  
As she caught another pass, Rouge turned her face towards the walls, and her gaze caught a face in one of the windows. Josh was watching them. She turned towards Remy, and sighed a little. 'Ya know, even if he said he wanted to be alone, Ah feel sorry for him.' she said, and Remy nodded empathically. 'Oui. Can't be easy to be him, ne?' Rogue shruged. 'It ain't easy to be any o' us, swamprat.' With that, she passed him the ball and flew to the other end of the imagined plan. Storm gave her competition enough, so noone complained about her advantage as air-borne. And the game continued.  
  
Days later, he even joined them for dinner. He'd been eating in his room, and Jean said that they all understood, but he had realised that he needed to join them. Not only at meals, but in activity. He had a need to move now, to exercise. The last few years had been nothing but exercise, from the moment he woke up to the moment he fell asleep. Even in his sleep, he'd been training, thinking and dreaming about things he needed to learn. Rest was well enough, but now he wanted to earn it. He even felt safe enough now to walk down the stairs by himself. Dressed in his 'better' clothes, the black polo and the pair of not so thorn jeans, he entered the kitchen, smiling uncertainly. They looked up from whatever they were doing, and Jean smiled at him. He felt warm all over by that smile, and her reaction gave him courage enough to look around and try to smile back. 'Hello everyone.' he said quietly, and then slipped sliently into an empty chair. It was almost as if they'd been expecting him. The conversation took speed again, and there was smiles and laughter. He hadn't seen or heard them in a very long time, and it felt good to make their aquintance again. He even joined the laughter as a food fight started, and Xavier ended up with mashed potato in his face - courtesy to Ororo.  
  
Back in his room, he thought about this new turn of his life, and looked around. If he was going to stay, perhaps it was time that he took up on the offer of help with decorating his room... 


End file.
